Unpacking the Politics of Opposition in South Asia

While voters across South Asia were once optimistic about the future of democracy, recent political setbacks in the region have dampened these hopes. However, most accounts of democratic backsliding focus on the strategies and tactics of regime incumbents, leaving little room for close study of opposition forces. 

In a new Carnegie South Asia report, The Politics of Opposition in South Asia, a group of scholars attempts to fill this analytical gap by focusing on the diverse array of opposition forces at work. Exploring a range of cases—from citizen protests in Sri Lanka to armed groups in Pakistan and street movements in Nepal—this report argues that opposition forces can help explain regime behavior as well as inform the possibilities of democratic renewal.

Please join us as we welcome contributors Bhavani Fonseka, Amish Raj Mulmi, and Zoha Waseem, who will be in conversation with report co-editors Paul Staniland and Milan Vaishnav, to discuss the state of the opposition space in countries across South Asia.